Local Authors

Eureka Books is exhibiting broadsides of local poets, Jerry Martien and Jim Dodge, along with international writers such as Margaret Atwood and Thich Nhat Hanh, and local artist Amy Uyeki, through April.

With California locked in a severe drought, a new book looks back 50 years to a different extreme event. The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte by local authors Greg Rumney and Dave Stockton, Jr. features hundreds of photos of the Great Christmas Flood of the Eel and Klamath Rivers. First came several feet of snow, followed by torrential rains, which melted the snow. To top it off, the third highest tide of the year had backed up debris and water for several miles. At its peak, the Eel River was discharging more than 800,000 cubic feet per second. Stockton grew up in the area and witnessed the flood. Rumney was the recipient of the Rudy Gillard Collection, which comprises the bulk of the photographs in this book. Rumney is shooting a documentary film about the flood, which will be released at the end of the year to commemorate the 50th anniversary.

Eureka Books’ Annual Celebration of Local Writers! Humboldt County is in for a treat on December 7 during Arts Alive. Eight local authors will be at Eureka Books.

December Arts Alive Schedule6-7 p.m.: Alex Service and Susan O’Hara, Northwestern Pacific Railroad Eureka to Willits, and Wendy Lestina, Our Story: The Ferndale Museum Collected Issues Vol XXXII to XXXIV May 2010 – December 2012.7-8 p.m.: Michael Kauffmann, Conifer Country and Conifers of the Pacific Slope, and Peter Hannaford, Presidential Retreats: Where the Presidents Went and Why They Went There and Reagan’s Roots.8-9 p.m.: Joan Dunning, Secrets of the Nest and Seabird in the Forest, Scott H. Brown, Eureka (Then and Now), and Michael Kauffmann.

Two new local history books, Northwestern Pacific Railroad Eureka to Willits by Alex Service and Susan O’Hara, and Our Story, edited by Wendy Lestina, will be featured at the event.

The centennial of the completion of the northern branch of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) is October 24, 2014. This momentous anniversary inspired Service and O’Hara to explore the history of the railroad. “With the question of whether Humboldt’s rail connection can be restored, and dreams of building a new railroad now being hotly debated issues in this county, it seemed a perfect time to take a look back at the railroad’s beginning here, and the vital roles that NWP played in Humboldt County for most of the 20th century,” Service explained.

Our Story is 268 pages of anecdotes, news clippings, photographs, diaries, and other personal accounts of the history of the Eel River Valley. The stories include, “Corona” Chris Christensen, an old bachelor who had arrived in Eureka on wrecked ship Corona, was told he should marry, he said, “I don’t need any curtains on my windows.” He changed his mind when he was 74.

Joan Dunning will be signing her books Secrets of the Nest and Seabird in the Forest, which features her art work. “Years ago, while I was researching From the Redwood Forest, I learned how to climb the tall redwoods in my backyard in preparation for climbing almost two hundred feet up into the canopy of the ancient redwood forest (imagine climbing up the outside of a twenty story building), to interview Julia Butterfly Hill,” said Dunning.

Michael Kauffmann, author of Conifer Country and Conifers of the Pacific Slope, explained “these books celebrate our exceptional western landscape, home to the highest conifer diversity in North America, by opening a window into wild places and the natural history found there.” Scott H. Brown continues to show us the history of Humboldt County through his photographs of “then and now.” He will be at Eureka Books to discuss and sign his book, Eureka (Then and Now), which shows changes of Eureka by comparing historic photographs with current photographs taken by Brown. Peter Hannaford will be signing his books Presidential Retreats: Where the Presidents Went and Why They Went There and Reagan’s Roots.

Doesn’t it seem like bookstores are the latest fashion accessory for authors? We should be shopping for a sensible handbag that doubles as a carry-on, but instead we’re out buying bookstores. Ann Patchett has one, as do Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Lethem, and Garrison Keillor. Larry McMurtry owns several, although I hear he’s consolidating…. [read on]

Local author Scott Brown (not the Scott Brown who works at the store) has just had a new book published: Eureka-Then and Now, which pairs historic photographs with modern images taken in the same location. The book is in stock now.

Come by during Arts Alive! on March 2 (6 to 9 pm) to have him sign your book.

Logging Railroads by Katy Tahja and Eureka: Then and Now by Scott Brown

Be sure to drop by Eureka Books during March Arts Alive! (March 2, from 6 – 9 pm). We’re hosting two local authors who will be signing their new books, Katy Tahja’s Logging Railroads of Humboldt and Mendocino County and Scott Brown’s Eureka: Then and Now. As a side note, the Scott Brown who will be signing books is not the Scott Brown who owns Eureka Books (nor is he the former senator from Massachusetts).

Local photographer Andy Westfall, author of the beautiful and completely sold-out book on ranching on the north coast, Humboldt Heartland, has just published a limited edition book of photographs taken behind the scenes at the Humboldt County Fair horse races. The book measures 17 by 11 inches, and reproduces 30 of Andy’s exquisite black-and-white photographs. The edition is just 30 copies and more than half are already taken.